Rumination
by The Bavarian
Summary: Po has a peculiar set of dreams that end up changing his relationship with Tigress forever. One-shot with some sexual content/references.


**I'm back with another one-shot! This one was inspired by...well, let's just say "teenage memories" and leave it at that. Rated M just in case due to some sexual content/references. Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KFP**

* * *

_He sat up on his mat, trying to make sense of his situation. He couldn't tell where he was, at least not by looking around; he somehow knew that he was in his room, but something was…different…about it. The geometry was all off, as was the lighting._

_The panda just sat there, scratching his head and trying to remember how he got here, when his door slid open._

"_Tigress?" Po eyed the tiger questioningly as she slipped into his room and out of the darkness of the hallway, sliding the door shut behind her. "W-what are you doing here?"_

_Tigress stood still by the doorway, then crossed her arms and looked him in the eye, smiling._

"_Come, panda…" she beckoned._

_Po had no idea what was going on or why, but before he knew it he was on his feet and only a couple inches from her. "Tigress, wha-"_

"_Shhh…" she placed her finger over his mouth to silence him. Her smile grew. She slipped one paw around his neck and the other around his waist and closed the distance between them; her eyes narrowed, giving him a dirty look._

_Po felt shivers go down his spine, but…good shivers. He felt alive, if a bit sweaty and nervous. He was about to open his mouth to speak when she crashed her lips into his._

_The kiss was rough at first; Po reeled in shock and his eyes shot wide. But after a couple seconds, he gave in, returning the kiss with a passion he didn't know he possessed. He wrapped his large arms around her back and pulled her in tighter, when-_

CLASH!

His eyes shot open, the morning gong ripping him from his sleep. His face was buried in his pillow, wet with his drool as he kissed it. Confused, he sat up and scratched his head. He was trying to remember what he had just dreamt about when he noticed he felt…different.

His chest was aching, emotions of all kinds stirring inside him. It felt as if his heart was a bee hive that had just been struck with a rock. This frustrated him. _Why can't I remember what I-_

His thoughts were cut off by an angry red panda's voice coming from the hallway.

"Po, get out here!"

"Y-yes, Master Shifu! Just a sec!" The panda fell back onto his mat, rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying one last time to remember before failing and rolling out of bed and onto the floor. He sighed as he slowly got to his feet and dragged himself to the door.

He slid it open, and, upon seeing the tiger master standing outside her door across from him, it all came back, hitting him like a brick.

"Whoa-AHH-oouh!" He stumbled backwards into his room as if he had been physically struck, flailing his arms around and landing with a crash on the floor. He lay there for a moment, eyes shut, going through the dream in his head over and over again, shocked and confused. Thoughts rushed through his head. _What do I say? What do I do? Why did I have a dream like that? What will-_

"Po?"

Po held his head up to see Tigress standing in his doorway, a look on her face that asked _What was that all about?_

Seeing her face made him blush as he quickly got to his feet, careful to avoid looking into her eyes again. His lips felt tingly from the memory of their contact with hers.

"Oh, heh-heh, I, uh, just…tripped…"

Tigress raised an eyebrow, continuing to look Po in the eye, even as he still refused to make eye contact.

"Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no, nothing's wrong, I'm fine…um…how are you?" Everything about Po screamed that he was anything but fine. He stumbled over his words, wouldn't look her in the eye, fidgeted more than a stuck rat, and was trying to change the subject. But before Tigress could call him out on it, Po continued without letting her respond.

"Hey, it's time for training! I can't wait! Let's DO THIS!" He darted past her and down the hallway, past the rest of the masters; they all stared at him as he went by before exchanging puzzled glances amongst themselves and shrugging. Shifu sighed and left to meditate while his students went to the kitchen for breakfast.

As the Five walked into the kitchen, they were shocked to see that Po was nowhere in sight.

"Um…is it just me or is Po acting _really _weird?" Monkey asked.

"Definitely _not_ just you," Crane responded, walking further into the kitchen and taking his seat.

"Something's up…he hasn't acted this weird since Gongmen City…" Tigress hated bringing the subject up, even if it did happen months ago; several emotions were attached to the group's experiences there, most of them being ones she didn't want to feel ever again.

"Soooo…what are we gonna do about breakfast, then?" Mantis asked, changing the subject and showing complete disregard for Po. "What?" he questioned, as the group glared at him.

"Well, we managed just fine before Po got here…we can make our own breakfast." Viper replied, preparing some dumplings. The rest of the group groaned and grudgingly did the same.

After breakfast, the Five moved on to their daily training. When they arrived at the training hall, they were all surprised to see Po in the hall before them, whacking away at the wooden training devices. They stood there for a moment, watching him, before he noticed them, losing focus as a wooden arm slammed into the back of his head. He tumbled over, sprawling out onto the ground just as Shifu walked in.

"What is he doing?" the grandmaster questioned. He turned to the Five, waiting for a response. Crane was the first to speak.

"Um…we don't really know…we just…found him like this…"

Shifu raised an eyebrow before turning back to the panda and calling to him.

"Po, come over here, I have something _special_ I am going to teach you all today."

That got the panda up and onto his feet. He rushed over to the rest of the group to join them, his excitement evident.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful; Po seemed to be back to normal for the most part, although he still hadn't revealed what it was that was bothering him earlier in the day. He was mostly preoccupied with attempting the new move Shifu had shown them to talk in the training hall, and too preoccupied during lunch _talking_ about the new move to discuss anything else. After the rest of the day's training, Po was back to his old self, joking and laughing as they ate dinner.

Tigress still wasn't fully convinced though. As the warriors retired to the barracks for the night, she caught up to Po as he was about to enter his room and placed her paw on his shoulder, pulling him aside.

"Po, are you sure everything is fine? You were acting awfully strange this morning…" she looked into his eyes; at first, they were calm, but the longer she kept eye contact, the more nervous they got. He finally broke away from her gaze and turned for his room.

"Yeah, I'm good, don't worry about it…" he waved it off, opening his door. "It was nothing. Seeya tomorrow, Tigress!" He stretched back into a noticeably fake yawn and quickly slammed his door shut behind him a little harder than he should have.

His room went dark, leaving Tigress standing out in the hallway alone. Her eyes narrowed as she thought. _He isn't telling me something, and I don't like it…_

She considered confronting him about it right now, marching into his room and demanding an answer, but since she was so exhausted from the day's training, she figured it could wait until morning.

Po lay in his bed, holding his breath until he heard her door open and close, before letting it out in a long, bewildered sigh. He still had no explanation for his dream the previous night, but he decided not to worry about it. _It's probably just one of those weird, freak dreams you have every once in a while…yeah, that's it…_

Content with his reasoning, he closed his eyes and got comfortable under his covers, slowly drifting off to sleep.

If only it was that simple.

* * *

_Po opened his eyes to a purring Tigress leaning against his chest, head nestled into his neck. He looked up, noticing he was in the same room that felt like it was his but clearly wasn't. Before he could speak, Tigress broke the embrace, placed her paws on his chest, and gently pushed him back onto the bed behind him._

_His eyes widened and his mouth gaped as she began to undress in front of him, tossing her clothes across the floor carelessly. The look she gave him got dirtier and her smirk grew wider with every piece of clothing she removed, her eyes never leaving his._

_Po's eyes, however, couldn't help but wander south as she approached him, totally naked. He felt a tightness in his pants he hadn't felt since he was a teenager. She got onto the bed and slipped under the covers, pulling Po under with her, before climbing on top of him as he lay there on his back. He could feel her grinding against him; he groped at her backside and guided her hips with his hands._

_Po couldn't help but stare at her chest which was mere inches from his face. Tigress saw this, and placed a finger beneath his chin, bringing his eyes up to hers._

"_Take them off…" she whispered in a seductive tone._

_Po could only nod, hastily kicking his pants off under the covers._

_What happened next, he wasn't entirely sure; all he knew was that he loved every moment of it. He had to bite back a moan just to talk._

"_Ti-Tigress…are…are we-" _

_He was once again cut off as she wrapped her paws around his neck and pressed her lips into his, both of them moaning in pleasure through the kiss. His hands found their way back to her hips, guiding them again as she repeatedly rose and came down on him. He didn't think this could get any better, not even if-_

CLASH!

The morning gong startled Po so much that he actually fell out of his bed with a yelp. He lay on the ground, eyes wide and breathing heavily for a few seconds before rolling over onto his back. His skin felt hot and prickly and his heart ached about ten times as much as it had the day before. There was also the issue of the…activity…in his pants…

He looked down, visually confirming the tight sensation, sighing as he let his head fall back to the ground. _Did I…seriously just…dream that…_

Po had always held soft feelings for the tiger master, but, whereas the first dream had only stirred and agitated those feelings, this one bundled them up like kindling and set them ablaze. He had just gotten to his feet when he heard a knock at his door.

"Po? Is everything alright?"

Tigress' voice sent a wave of heat to his cheeks as he blushed, hard. His heart raced at the sudden prospect of seeing her face again; fear gripped his throat as he realized he would have to leave the comfort and security of his room, rendering him unable to respond.

He had barely enough time to cross his legs to hide his…excitement…before she slid the door open slowly and peered in.

"Po?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…just…gimme…a sec…" he replied in a squeaky voice as he placed his hands over his crotch and tucked it further under his leg.

"Uhh…Po…what are you doing…?" He could see Tigress' eyes narrow out of the corner of his vision; he didn't dare to make eye contact.

"Oh! Um…I just gotta pee…really bad!" He chuckled nervously as he hopped over to the door, making sure to keep his eyes as far away from her face as possible while still seeing where he was going.

She stepped to the side a bit to let him through, but not enough to avoid brief physical contact; as Po hopped past her, their arms brushed against one another and he felt a hot, tingly sensation shoot throughout his body.

Before he could continue down the hallway, she laid her paw on his shoulder from behind; it, too, burned against him and he thought he was going to lose it then and there.

"Po, you _will_ be joining us for breakfast this morning," she stated firmly.

His eyes darted between the eyes of the rest of the masters who stood before him. All of their gazes were full of concern. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, fine, but first…" He trailed off, hopping down the hallway with his legs still crossed, blushing and embarrassed that his colleagues were seeing him like this. Once he was out of view, he uncrossed his legs and proceeded out into the courtyard. He plopped himself down on the ground and began to meditate, trying hard to clear his mind.

It took a while, but he finally managed to calm himself down. He stood up and took a few deep breaths in through his nose, and out through his mouth. He felt at peace, or at least as at peace as he could get for the time being.

Then he turned around.

Everyone stood there, deadpanning, with Shifu at the front. Po jumped back a bit as Shifu stepped forward to speak.

"Po, it is painfully obvious that something is wrong. Please, for your sake as well as ours, tell us what is botheri-"

"SOOOOO…who wants breakfast? I think I can maybe cook up a little something special today to make up for yesterday, yeah?" Before anyone could respond, Po was already halfway back to the kitchen.

The group, minus Shifu and Tigress, began to drift back towards the palace. Shifu just stood there face-palming until Tigress bowed and spoke up.

"Master, I request that Po and I be put together as sparring partners today." When Shifu looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look on his face, she explained. "He trusts me, master. I think I might be able to coax it out of him. And if that fails, I'll force it out of him," she smirked a little with the last sentence.

Shifu stroked his beard. "Hmm. Alright, I see no harm in trying."

They bowed to each other before following the rest of the Five back to the palace.

* * *

The masters followed their grandmaster into the training hall after breakfast. Two hung behind the rest, however; Crane and Viper were reflecting in hushed tones on the uneasy atmosphere the meal had had.

"…but he barely said anything the entire time!" Crane pointed out.

"I know! I hope he's okay…" Viper replied.

Tigress, who stood closest to the two, silently agreed with Viper. Po was about as opposite as he could get from his normal self; as such, her once mild concern had grown into worry, and then into full-blown fear. She prayed that she would be able to get him to talk during training today.

It was then that she stopped and realized how protective of him she had become; reflecting on her time spent with him, starting from when she first met him up until now, she noticed a pattern of increasing emotional involvement to the point of – _no, it couldn't be…_

…could it? She knew she had feelings for him…but just how deep did those feelings run?

Her heart rate picked up and she began to breathe more rapidly as she desperately tried to sort through her feelings.

But before she could dig deeper, she heard the avian and the snake silently move past her. She looked up from where she was standing and sighed. She would have to ponder this later.

She regained her composure and followed them into the training hall.

* * *

After brief instruction and technique lessons, Shifu walked down the line, assigning the students their daily sparring partners.

"Monkey, you will be sparring with Viper. Crane, today you and Mantis will face each other." He reached Po, who was now squirming a bit. Shifu let a small grin slip onto his face. "And your partner, Dragon Warrior, will be Master Tigress."

The masters all bowed – except for Po – who pulled Shifu aside as Monkey, Viper, Mantis and Crane all left to begin sparring. Tigress stayed behind, waiting for her partner.

"Hey, uh, Master Shifu?" Po asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Yes, Po?"

"I was…wondering…could I, y'know, maybe spar with Monkey today? There was this really cool move I wanted to show him…"

Tigress was taken aback. Po had _never_ asked to switch partners _away_ from her; if anything, he would always ask to be _with_ her. She was now visibly distressed; Shifu picked up on this, and responded.

"And what move might that be?"

"Oh, it was this…um…really cool spin…kick…thingy…" Shifu just raised an eyebrow, glaring incredulously at the panda. Po could tell he wasn't buying it so he stopped trying to half-ass his way through it.

"C'mon." Tigress stepped in and grabbed the panda's arm, pulling him down to the training floor with her before he could object.

They stood across from each other, each in their ready stances – though Po was really anything but ready – as Tigress verbally confirmed her status.

"Ready." Her eyes narrowed and focused on his.

Po sighed. He still couldn't bring his eyes to hers, and though he was clearly not, he too said "Ready."

As the two circled one another, scanning each other for an opening to exploit, Po let his eyes wander to places they shouldn't have been. He only realized where he had been looking when an open palm slammed into his face, flipping him over and onto his back.

"Po, tell me what's wrong! You were clearly not focused," the tiger said, reaching down to help him up.

He breathed a small sigh of relief; she hadn't caught him eyeing her up. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him back to his feet. He was about to turn away and get back into his ready stance when she laid both her paws on his shoulders.

"Po, look at me," she commanded. He still refused to so much as turn his head to face her direction. "Look at me!" She shouted at him, but he only jolted back a little. She finally resorted to grabbing his chin and pulling his face to hers.

There was no use in avoiding it now. He gave in and made contact with her glowing orange eyes.

Images of his dreams flooded his mind and he began to sweat and shiver. He bit his lip, trying to maintain his composure with everything he had, but failing.

"Tell me what's wrong…please…" Tigress' tone had softened a great deal as she peered with pleading eyes into his.

Po groaned and backed away from her, her paws slipping off of his shoulders as he turned away.

"It was just a dream, okay?!" Po was flustered and blushing deeper than ever as he scratched the back of his head and looked down at the ground.

"A dream about what?" Tigress crossed her arms and gazed skeptically at the panda.

"Look, Tigress, I _really_ don't wanna talk about it, I have a lotta things on my mind as it is-"

"Take them off…"

"I – wait, what?" Po shot his gaze back to Tigress' face; he could've sworn she had the same dirty look on her face as she had in his dream. He blinked and shook his head, the look disappearing.

"I said, take them off your mind by telling me," she repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh…heh…" He rubbed the bridge of his nose and grunted. "Well, first off, I stole some of Monkey's cookies and he caught me, so now I have to pay him back triple…I also still have to fix that hole I punched through my bedroom wall a few days ago…then I have to think about what to make for dinner-"

"Po." Tigress stopped him, sighing and shaking her head. "You know what I mean."

"Ugh! Tigress, I can't just _tell you!"_

"Why not?"

"Because, I _can't!_ Why do you wanna know so badly, anyway?"

She hesitated, choosing her next words carefully; despite her caution, they didn't come out nearly as smoothly as she would have liked.

"Well…because, I…care for you. It…worries me when I see you so…upset."

Now it was her turn to avoid his gaze as she stood there, perfectly straight, arms behind her back and her eyes everywhere but on his face.

Po stood there, dumbfounded, staring at her through incredulous eyes, when Crane slammed into the ground between the two.

"Woohoo, yeah! Come at me, bro!" Mantis taunted Crane from across the room after having just thrown him out of the air.

"You just got lucky," Crane retorted, getting up and dusting himself off, completely oblivious of the two that flanked him as he flew back towards his opponent.

"Uhh…yeah, I just remembered, I uh…gotta help my dad with lunch today!" Po started to inch away from her and towards the door.

"Po, we've been here for fifteen minutes-"

"Yeah, but the lunch rush always starts early on Wednesdays!" he turned and bolted up the stairs and out of the hall.

"It's…Saturday…" she muttered under her breath.

Shifu walked up beside the tiger and sighed.

"Perhaps it's best this way, Tigress. He obviously needs time to think through his problems, whatever they may be, and we shouldn't deny him his alone time." He gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned.

"Now, in light of the absence of your training partner…" He bowed before assuming the ready stance. Her smile grew larger, and she did likewise. Shifu knew sparring was the best form of therapy for his daughter.

"Ready," they both said in unison before lunging at each other, dancing around the hall in a blur.

* * *

It was past lunch time and the panda still had yet to return. Tigress was still worried, though she honored her master's wishes and did not seek him out. _He'll be back when he's ready…_ she reasoned.

Because it was Saturday, the warriors had the rest of the day off from training to meditate. Though the tiger was usually more enthused over physical training, today she eagerly took the opportunity given to her to sort through her thoughts. She found the most secluded and peaceful place on the palace grounds for her rumination: the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.

Sitting under the tree as the wind gently rocked it back and forth, she breathed in deeply and took in the world around her with all of her senses at once. Once she felt at peace, she began.

One by one she let memories of Po find their way to the foreground of her mind with the attached emotions rushing through her. She picked through the evidence that lay before her, feelings of both happiness and grief fighting over control of her heart, the latter eventually winning out and throwing her into something similar to the five stages of grieving.

_Denial. No, there was no way that she felt that way for him. She was emotionless, stoic, having trained since her childhood to block out these meaningless emotions. There was no way that twenty years of training would be failing her now; she couldn't and wouldn't accept the fact that all those years had gone to waste._

_Anger. But they had gone to waste. The emotions she held in her heart now were proof of this. All those years spent, for nothing! All because of that stupid panda and his intrusive demeanor! Images of his first night at the palace engulfed her mind as she relived the emotions she had felt back then all over again._

_Bargaining. But maybe all was not lost. Perhaps her emotions were only that of friendship and camaraderie, and she was simply blowing it up in her mind. She could try to suppress her emotions like she always had, and the two would remain just friends. Yes, that was it; that was how she would go about it._

_Depression. She sighed inwardly, knowing that deep down, that was not really what she wanted, and that her emotions were far too sensitive to be merely friendship. There was no use in hiding it anymore. It was pointless. Everything was pointless. She might as well tell the whole world that she had gone soft._

_Acceptance. But she knew moping and feeling sorry for herself wouldn't solve anything. She knew she couldn't run from the truth forever; eventually she would have to face it. She had to acknowledge the fact that…over time…her feelings for him had grown…_

_She loved him._

_A wave of relief rushed over her as she finally faced the truth. She hadn't expected to feel so relieved, but she was happy. Happy that she no longer had to hide from the truth. Happy that she loved him._

Tigress opened her eyes, seeing the world before her in a totally new light. She now saw the sun's rays not as blinding and invasive, but warm and comforting. The birds now sang eloquently rather than chirping annoyingly. The wind no longer existed solely to distract her and mess her fur up, but rather to stroke her face reassuringly with each gentle gust.

She stood up, feeling like an entirely new person. She allowed a grin to sneak onto her face, and before she knew it she was smiling brighter than the sun. Her heart felt like it was flying through the clouds. She had nothing left to hide, nothing left to fear.

That is, until she remembered; there was still the issue of telling Po how she felt. Her heart sunk back down and into her stomach as her smile vanished and uncertainty once again clouded her mind.

She felt a presence behind her, spinning around and confirming that feeling. Shifu stood at the top of the stairs, leaning slightly on his staff with a small smile on his face.

"Master Shifu!" Tigress hastily bowed, not doing a very good job of hiding her surprise and anxiety. Shifu gauged her reaction and stroked his beard, before speaking up.

"There is something you wish to talk about?"

"I, uh-" She let out a sigh; she _did_ want to talk about it, to just get it off her chest, and there was no use in holding it in for later. "…yes, master. There is."

Shifu nodded and walked to her side, motioning for her to sit. She complied, and he gently laid his free hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye with a calm gaze.

"I'm listening."

Tigress took a couple deep breaths before beginning. "Master…please don't be angry, but…" Shifu raised an eyebrow slightly as she continued. "…I think…I think I might…_love… _Po._"_ She hung her head low at those last words, unsure what type of reaction to expect from the red panda.

He simply backed up a couple steps and said, "Hmm. Really…" she winced slightly, preparing herself for chastisement. "Alright, if that's what you want…" He turned and began to leave, Tigress stunned at his response.

"Wait – so, you're okay with it?"

He turned back to her and smiled. "As long as it does not interfere with your duty and your training, I have no problems with it." He was at her side again, his hand back on her shoulder. "I trust your judgment; you are more than mature enough to make your own decisions and to choose the path that leads you to happiness."

She felt her eyes become glossy as the biggest smile of her life crept onto her face. "Oh, father…" she leaned forward and pulled him into a tight embrace, sniffling a bit. "…thank you…for understanding…"

Shifu returned the hug, chuckling softly, before backing out and turning towards the stairs.

"Come now, dinner is almost ready."

She just now realized that the day was almost gone; her meditation must've taken a lot longer than she expected it would. Nevertheless, she felt a grumble beginning in her stomach and followed her master and father down the stairs back to the palace.

* * *

Upon entering the kitchen with Shifu, she saw the rest of the Five gathered around the table, eagerly awaiting the food that Po was preparing.

The sight of Po made Tigress a little tense. When he turned to greet her, avoiding eye contact, she immediately remembered the reason she had discovered her feelings for him in the first place; he still hadn't told her what was bothering him, and she was now more determined than ever to find out.

But then her stomach grumbled again, and she decided to wait until after dinner.

After Po had served the food and sat down at the table, he began to poke and twirl the noodles in his bowl with his chopsticks, obviously too preoccupied with his thoughts to eat.

Tigress was, unbeknownst to him, just as on edge as he was. It took her a couple minutes to speak up.

"So…what did you do today after you left?"

Po looked up from his bowl, though still avoided looking at the tiger that sat next to him.

"Oh, I-uhh, _we,_ my dad and I…did…noodle stuff…"

"Noodle stuff?" Monkey asked before slurping broth out of his bowl. "What kind of 'noodle stuff?'"

"Uh, yeah, hey-" He stood up abruptly with his bowl of noodles in hand. "I think I'm gonna take my noodles _to go_…heh…heh…for a…walk…" He slowly backed up, the other masters staring at him, before turning and taking off into the hallway.

Tigress quickly finished the last of her noodles before standing up herself and leaving the room. No one bothered to ask where she was going so quickly as she stepped out of the room and began to look for the panda.

* * *

Po stood under the peach tree, holding his bowl in one hand and using his chopsticks to twirl the noodles with the other. He sighed as he went through the dreams in his head yet again. He felt the emotions stir once more;_ the look in her eyes, seeing her body completely-_

"So, this is your walk?"

Po jumped, flinging the bowl of noodles in his hand out over the edge and down onto the hill below. He spun around to meet Tigress' gaze for the first time that night.

"Tigress! Don't do that, you almost gave me a freakin' heart attack! Sheesh…" He placed his hand on his chest, taking a few deep breaths, not even noticing the absence of his noodle bowl.

"Apologies." The tiger strolled up to the peach tree and leaned against it, never taking her eyes off of his. "Po. You need to tell me what is bothering you. It will help," she explained.

Po realized that he couldn't keep this up forever; sooner or later he would have to tell her, so he might as well do it now and get it over with. He let out a heavy sigh and scratched the back of his neck before turning away from her to begin.

"Well…like I said earlier, I had this dream…this really _weird, _really _crazy_ dream the other night…"

"About what?" Tigress prodded further.

"Um…well, you were there…"

"Ooookaayyy…were other people there, or was it just me?"

"No, uh…it was just you…and me…in a room…together…" he gulped.

"What was happening? What were we doing?" She tried to keep her tone soft and not too demanding; this felt more like interrogation than consolation.

Po blushed at her question; he was thankful she couldn't see his face. "Umm…err…_stuff…_"

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff…uhh…" he cleared his throat nervously. "…stuff we _probably_ shouldn't have been doing at the palace…" Po was sure she knew what he was referring to by now; he stood frozen with bated breath, awaiting her reaction, but deadpanned as she merely continued.

"Like…skipping training…? Playing catch with Kung Fu relics in the Hall of Warriors…? Eating in the training hall-"

Po couldn't take it anymore. The pressure had been building on him slowly but surely, and now he broke under its weight. He spun around and looked her dead in the eye.

"WE HAD _SEX_, OKAY?!"

As soon as the words left his lips he regretted it. He slapped both hands over his mouth and stared at her through eyes wider than the Yellow Sea.

Tigress' eyes shot as wide as his as she twirled around, crossing her arms. "…Oh." She cleared her throat as nervously as he had.

Po turned back around and scratched his head; the back of his head was practically raw from so much scratching. "…_yeah…"_

The two stood there, backs to one another in silence for what seemed like forever. Both had no idea what the other was feeling, and neither were too keen on sharing what they felt, prompting Tigress to break the silence.

"And…how does this make you feel?" She hesitated before slowly turning back towards the panda and pacing over to his side. Po looked up – still making sure to avoid her with his eyes – and responded.

"Honestly…I liked it. It felt great – uh, _emotionally_, that is…it felt like some hole had been filled – er, _figuratively speaking_ of course-"

Tigress couldn't help but giggle a little at his poor choice of words, the tension between the two slowly melting away.

"Look, Tigress, I-I just don't know. I don't know why I dreamt that, and I understand if-"

"Po." She turned to him, placing a paw on his shoulder and turning him to her. They made eye contact for a few seconds before she looked down to his chest, placing her paw over his heart. "I think I might know why…" she was really going out on a limb here; one misstep and everything could come crashing down around her.

She was a little startled when he placed one hand over hers and with his other placed a finger beneath her chin, bringing her eyes back up to his.

"Tigress…I think it's about time I told you…that…"

She blushed, her heart rate picking up and adrenaline shooting through her body. It was then that she reached the end of the figurative limb, hanging precariously over the edge before going for the leap of faith.

"I love you too, Po," she blurted before he could finish.

A look of utter surprise washed across the panda's face – for a second she thought she blew it – before a grin replaced it. He wrapped his arms around her back and waist and pulled her into a tight embrace, which she gladly returned.

The two stood there in a much more welcome silence as they relished in each other's company.

They both leaned back at the same time, making eye contact again, before leaning in again and gently rubbing their noses together, and finally pushing forwards into a deep, passionate kiss. The world seemed to come to a stop until their lips finally parted with a soft smack.

They turned towards the valley beneath them, Po's arm still around Tigress' shoulder and her arm still around his waist. She leaned her head into his neck and he leaned his head against hers, both gazing up at the brilliant full moon shining down onto them.

For some reason, Po could only think of one thing right now: how well he was going to sleep tonight.

* * *

**That's all, folks! Hope you enjoyed it; leave a review if you wanna let me know what you thought! :D**


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